Help cutting 40 x60 glass

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mona

mona

CGF, Certified Grumble Framer
Joined
May 15, 2005
Posts
175
Loc
Corvallis, Oregon
Well I got the glass in wall cutter scored it at 20.5 in and I can't get it to break. Needs to be 20.5 x 59 I can't take it off the wall mount or it will bread in my hands. It is scored pretty well I don't know if I am freezing up cause of the size or what any tips? Should I use a piece of cardboard behind the score and whack at it or, I think I am just paranoid, standing on a ladder trying to get it to break. Thanks to all replies Mona
 
Are you pressing at the top or the bottom of the score, not in the middle? It needs to start a "run" on the break. It doesn't matter as much with smaller pieces, but on these big ones, start from an end.

Glass pliers? You could slide it out from behind the bar a little and start it from the top with glass pliers.

Good luck!!
 
Don't wait to long or it will begin to heal. Once you move it, you'll have a hard time if you have to rescore it, as it won't be in the same place. (I know you're not supposed to rescore, but sometimes you got to do what you got to do )

As Molly said, start your run from the end and don't hesitate or you'll probably break it.
 
Glass doesn't "heal". If it did then all those prints with broken glass wouldn't need replacing!

Just snap it. Start from the bottom and it should be fine. If not, that's why there are 2 panes in the box ;)
 
Ditto on the glass pliers... My C+H wall cutter really doesn't have a glass breaker, so if I need to break out a tricky cut I'll reach for the glass pliers.

If you don't have a pair of glass pliers, you've just discovered the reason why you should :) They're cheap and worth every penny!
 
Is it UV glass? Maybe you're trying to score on the coated side. I hate when I do that! If so when you flip the glass around to try to rescore on the right side be sure you don't score it 1" off from the original score line but score it exactly opposite the score line. Otherwise you will have wasted the glass! I hate when I do that too....
 
Bob Doyle said:
Glass doesn't "heal". If it did then all those prints with broken glass wouldn't need replacing!
Click to expand...


Well gee Bob, I wasn't talking about broken glass!

I guess since even scientists can't agree if glass is a solid or a liquid there will always be a nonbeliever in the healing ability of glass.
I'm just saying, snap it as soon as possible after scoring, don't go to lunch and the potty and come back thinking you'll snap it then. :D


So tell us, what happened Mona.
 
I was cutting glass for years before I relaized that if you press on the top it breaks great. I always pressed on the middle and ran into the same problem you are having, especially with big pieces
 
If the cutter cuts your smaller pieces of glass ok, then there will be no problem just because the lite size is 40x60. It is important to not move the glass once you've scored it. Then give it a jolt with the butt of your hand, or sometimes I put my thumb on the front of the glass and the rest of my fingers behind the cutter's upright bar and squeeze.

If you're nervous, put on a leather glove.
 
Thanks gang, sucess I put a pencil tip under the begining of the score and pushed viola. Still a huge ol'wobbly piece of glass glad thats done.
 
Good move. Glad that worked.
:cool: Rick

Cutting glass reminds me of the scene in Julie & Julia where Julia Child (Meryl Streep) is explaining about flipping an omelette. She said, "You've got to have the courage of your convictions."
 
Rick, that is a perfect reference.

Glass gets lonely, and nervous, and breaks funny when it is the last piece from the box.
 
I quit cutting 40x60 more than several years ago. I scored a piece on my C&H and I guess I got a little heavy handed with the scoring. When I slid it over to snap it, the excess piece fell to the floor, scoring my shoe on the way. Missed my toes though, wheww! The next piece I cut, I was sweating bullets. Never again. I make a really good sales pitch on acrylic for anything over 36x48. No one has turned me down yet.
 
I wouldn't consider it a sales pitch. Just say it's your company's policy, due to weight and safety factors.
:cool: Rick
 
The sales pitch comes into play after I have told them that I dont cut glass that size.

I did have one man that had to have glass, and asked if he got it cut somewhere else, would I put it in the frame. I said sure, if it was delivered. The glass survived the trip until it arrived at my front door. The man set it down on the pavement to open my door and it cracked. I was in the back and didnt see it happen, but heard him yelling at me to help. Poor guy was disgusted, and I was disgusted for him. He bought acrylic.
 
Give it a wack. Show it who is boss.:)

If you have done a good score, a cross look is enough to snap it.

My party piece when cutting up scrap bits is to score it a few times up/down and then a few times sideways. Flip it over and bang it in the middle with my fist. Do it with confidence and you get about 50 little 1" squares.:p
 
I hate using glass that big too! I remember having to go through 3 pieces once. Errant snap on the score killed the first, excessively flexing killed the second. When I was flipping it after cleaning one side, I may have lifted too fast or too slow, and it snapped. Almost took my fingers off when I instinctively tried to grab it as it was falling toward my foot!

3rd piece made it out the door. I think it is still hanging above their bed's headboard. ;)
 
I cut all glass by hand and have found it helpful to cut pieces this large after hours with the door locked and the phone off the hook. It also helps to take a big shot of confidence builder just prior to making the big score. Takes the edge off doing it.

:shutup:
 
just get a bigger hammer...advice as given by Tim the toolman
 
Careful yet confident!

That's what I always tell my employees they need to be when I'm training them on the care and handling of glass. I do also believe that glass smells your fear!!
 
I don't find scoring the big glass so daunting as getting the lite up onto the wall cutter gently, so as not to chip a corner. But I also refuse to deal with glass bigger than 36x48. We're in earthquake country, and if someone has something that big, they should be using acrylic.
 
I say you are ALL gutsy for just putting that big of a piece of glass in the cutter! I just cannot get myself to do it. The idea of setting that glass on the metal ledge makes the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. Kudos to you brave souls!! I would like to watch you do it, maybe then I could find my courage.

Nancy
 
Generally, if the frame is larger than 36"x48", I will strongly recommend acrylic, and absolutely will not use glass larger than 40"x60". When a customer insists on using larger glass than I recommend, the added PIA charge makes it more expensive than acrylic.

Years ago a customer asked us to frame a poster that was huge -- about 60" x 90" as I recall. Of course he wanted it cheap, so I designed the frame with aluminum moulding and 1/4" glass, which was still a lot less money than acrylic. It was very heavy and required two of us to handle it at every stage of assembly. So, I effectively transferred the true cost of the project from him to me.

What a nightmare. I delivered and helped him install it. The front door frame of his house had to be removed in order to get the frame in. The bottom rail of the frame could not support the weight of the glass, so we ended up building a shelf under it. That frame is probably still bolted to the wall.

Never again.
 
I do use 40x60 glass. It's not so much the scoring and breaking that bothers me, it's getting the piece up the wall cutter. I can't do it by myself but luckily my husband is next door.
And yes, I do charge a bit more because it involves more labor than 'regular' size.
 
Jim Miller said:
What a nightmare. I delivered and helped him install it. The front door frame of his house had to be removed in order to get the frame in. The bottom rail of the frame could not support the weight of the glass, so we ended up building a shelf under it. That frame is probably still bolted to the wall.

Never again.
Click to expand...

Just curious... whenever I have worries about the bottom rail supporting the weight of the art and glass, I'll install hanging wire in a "diamond" pattern; in addition to the two D-rings on the side rails I'll install a third in the center of the bottom rail. The wire attaches to the bottom ring, goes up through one side ring, over to the other, and then back down to the bottom and gets attached again. This has the effect of holding the weight from the bottom (and I use appropriately heavy-duty hangers and wire for this!) Is there a reason why this trick couldn't be used in this case?
 
jim_p said:
...This has the effect of holding the weight from the bottom (and I use appropriately heavy-duty hangers and wire for this!) Is there a reason why this trick couldn't be used in this case?
Click to expand...

Yup. I believe I used the George Lincoln 8-point wiring pattern on that frame. I remember because there was wire flopping all over the place as we muscled it through the hole in the house where the door used to be.

The frame was a deep-rabbet aluminum profile, and it twisted. The back of the frame was secure, but the front of the frame, where the glass rested, deflected. The corners were closed at the back, but open -- waaaay open -- at the front.

On several levels, that was an early learning experience for me. I had been framing for only a year or two at the time.
 
jim_p said:
Just curious... whenever I have worries about the bottom rail supporting the weight of the art and glass, I'll install hanging wire in a "diamond" pattern; in addition to the two D-rings on the side rails I'll install a third in the center of the bottom rail. The wire attaches to the bottom ring, goes up through one side ring, over to the other, and then back down to the bottom and gets attached again. This has the effect of holding the weight from the bottom (and I use appropriately heavy-duty hangers and wire for this!) Is there a reason why this trick couldn't be used in this case?
Click to expand...

You will hear different responses to this method. Last time this was mentioned here (maybe 2 years ago), somebody said it actually stresses the frame instead of supporting it.

I will be curious to know what others think of it as well.
 
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